


Moving Into Accepting

by LainellaFay



Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: Drama, Future Fic, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-06
Updated: 2016-03-16
Packaged: 2018-03-06 09:07:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3128981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LainellaFay/pseuds/LainellaFay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Peter Pan never wanted to grow up. Five years old, Niou thought it was a stupid idea. Now, at twenty-six, he thinks he understands why. Life is a cruel master for those who age.” – Niou/Marui. Future-fic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> **Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis.**
> 
>  
> 
>  **Contains:** Shounen-ai (Boy/Boy), Crude Language, Homophobia etc.
> 
> Crossposted on FFnet.

.

.

.

 _"_ _Often, it's not about becoming a new person, but becoming the person you were meant to be, and already are, but don't know how to be."  
― Heath L. Buckmaster, _ _Box of Hair: A Fairy Tale_

.~.

Niou flings the keys to his new apartment up in the air, catching it as it falls, repeating the same motion over and over again. With his right hand in his pocket, Niou whistles as he heads up the stairs, two steps at a time. His belongings would arrive the day after, but Niou decided to stay in the empty apartment for the night, as well as to give it a once check over. As Niou continues climbing up to the fifth floor, he spots a guy holding a child in his arms, walking in the opposite direction. Niou would have passed by without a second thought but the male's bright red hair caught his attention. His eyes widen and he whips his head around, looking at the guy, who apparently did the same after catching sight of his own striking silver hair, now on the step below him.

"Marui?"

"Niou?"

They both spoke at the same time, and they immediately knew that they were right. Niou observes his old friend standing in front of him. Marui is taller, no longer could be considered a shorty, just shy of a few centimetres from Niou's own height. His hair is a little shorter, trimmed near the ends, and not as messy as it used to be in high school.

Marui speaks first, "What are you doing here?"

Niou fumbles with his keys and watches them tumble down the flight of stairs. Chasing after them, Niou bends down and picks them up, before turning back to look up at Marui who is still on the same step. "I'm living here from today onwards. I'm going to presume that you are too." Niou flicks his eyes over to the mass of hair on Marui's shoulder. "Yours?"

Marui furrows his eyebrows at Niou's question. When Niou thought that he didn't get him, Marui answers, "Oh, no. I'm just taking care of him for someone. You know I'm…"

"Gay?" Niou finishes for him, and Marui nods slowly, biting his bottom lip, eyes darting left and right. Niou wonders if he had mistaken the flash of horror, and then, pain on Marui's face. "Who knows? You could always adopt. Well, I'm just going to go to, you know." He raises up his hand and jingles his keys in the air. "Guess I'll catch you around sometime."

Niou bounces up the stairs, past Marui, before waiting for Marui's reply. But he swears that he faintly heard Marui say, "Same goes to you."

Niou smiles.

.~.

Niou wobbles under the weight of the box labelled _kitchen appliances_ as he slowly crawls up the stairs to his apartment. Barely able to see over the top of the box, Niou nearly slammed right into Marui who was standing by the door.

"Need some help?" asks Marui, placing his hands on his hips as he glances down at Niou, who is in a squat, the cardboard box on the floor.

"How do you know which apartment I'm in? The letterbox shouldn't have been filled in yet." Niou scratches his head, running his fingers through his hair, till he reaches his hair tie.

"I asked around." Marui shrugs nonchalantly. "It's not hard to find which apartment has a new owner. People gossip. By the way, I live directly above you. How coincidental don't you think?"

"There's no such thing as coincidences. Wait. Directly you mean, like above _above_?" Niou gapes. He reflects on his choice of words and regrets them instantly. What was he, a first grader? Going around saying, _'do you like_ like _her?'_ But he was stunned and that was the first thing that escaped his lips.

"Yup-p," Marui pops the 'p' and nods cheerfully. "So, you need help or not?"

"I could use an extra pair of hands," Niou mumbles, straightening up and points down towards the floor. "There's still a truckload of boxes waiting to be carried up."

"Sounds tiring." Marui places his hands behind his head. "How about I stay here and bring them into your place while you carry them up?"

Niou rolls his eyes and reaches out to whack Marui on the head. "Help properly like the servant you offered to be."

"A slave-driver as always, Niou."

.~.

Niou lie sprawled out on the ground while Marui pops his joints, sitting cross-legged. They sit in the middle of Niou's furniture-less apartment, filled with the dull light brown coloured cardboard boxes piling atop of each other. Rolling over onto his stomach, Niou rests his head on his palms with his elbows propped up on the floor. The room is dark, the sun having set an hour ago, and they were both too tired (lazy) to switch on the lights.

"I've not exercised this much in a billion years," Marui groans, stretching his arms in the air. "I should probably start to frequent a gym. Would you like to join me?"

Niou shakes his head. "Nah, I need to –" A loud growl pierces through the air, cutting Niou off midsentence. Niou eyes Marui, who is looking sheepish. "Tell me that's your stomach and not a fart."

A book would have definitely flown towards Niou's face if there were any lying around. Fortunately for him, there weren't. Marui flushes red—Niou felt strangely delighted that that part of Marui haven't changed. "I'm hungry, so what?"

Niou glances at his wristwatch. "Well, it certainly is way past dinner time. Since you helped me with the boxes, I'll treat you. Chinese or pizza?"

Marui lights up for a split second, before sending a glare at Niou. "I'm happy that you're treating me. But do you really have to make me choose between my two favourites?"

"Don't you dare say both."

Marui narrows his eyes and huffs, turning away from Niou. "Fine, Chinese." He then slowly rotates his head back and says, "I forgot, you don't know where the restaurants are around here right? Just wait a sec, I'll write it down for you—"

Niou gets into a sitting position and fishes his phone out of his back pocket. "I wandered around yesterday. Plus, I'm ordering home delivery." He dials the number that he already memorized into his phone.

The food arrives not long later and the two of them places the containers on the floor. "We're in a house yet we're eating on the floor," Marui complains, slurping up some noodles, before biting into a dumpling that he held in between his chopsticks. "Why can't you have some furniture set up like yesterday?"

"Think of it as camping. At least you're not eating _off_ the floor. Unless, you feel up to setting up the table for me right here right now."

"No thanks."

"I rest my case." They eat silently and Niou takes a swig of water. Fixing his eyes on Marui, he asks, "Did you want something?"

Marui blinks in surprise and looks up from his container of noodles, some strands hanging out of his mouth before he slurps them up. "What?"

Niou places the bottle down and rubs his eyes. He probably should have phrased that a little clearer. "You were standing outside earlier. I doubt you're there just to offer me some help."

"So you're saying that you won't believe me if I said that I just wanted to help?" Marui's smile is sly, bringing Niou back to their high school days. He remains unnerved. Testing each other, seeing who would falter first; a game which brought back much memories.

"Of course. The day you _just wanted to help_ ," Niou does the bunny quotation marks, "is the day I become God. Everyone knows you wouldn't bother yourself with troublesome matters." Niou thinks back to the days when Marui constantly dumped boring and tiring chores onto Jackal – ah, Jackal, he felt sorry for the lad.

They stare at each other, neither blinking. Niou's poker face, honed from years of practice, facing Marui's sly grin. Marui's the first to falter. He always did. Niou wonders why Marui still tried to win against him, he never did, never would.

"Fine," Marui surrenders, stuffing a mouthful of noodles, which were getting cold, into his mouth. Niou does the same with his fried rice. "It's been so long so I just wanted to see you. You know, get your contact number and all that stuff. You just happened to be moving your stuff so I offered a hand." Marui pauses, as if wondering whether he should continue. He does. "Plus, I wanted to see if you had cookies."

"Cookies?"

Marui chews and swallows, before waving his chopsticks in the air. "You know, the tradition where you offer food to your neighbours after moving in."

Niou rolls his eyes and sighs. "What tradition. I don't do that."

"It's only common courtesy!" Marui chucks his now empty container into the plastic bag and goes on all fours, crawling till his face is right in front of Niou. "Be sure to bring over some cookies next time."

Niou slowly shuts his eyes, sighing yet again. "Fine fine, you greedy pig."

Marui's about to pull back when he remembers, adding, "Homemade!"

"Huh?" Niou chucks his own empty containers into the plastic bag, tying it up and places it by the side to dispose of later.

"I like the cookies that you bake. Bake them again."

Niou squints his eyes, racking his memories. Did he ever bake for Marui? He couldn't remember. "Whatever," he says instead. Taking out his phone, he asks, "So? You wanted to exchange numbers?"

Marui smiles and mirrors him. "Hey Niou, don't you think that since we met, it's time for a team reunion?"

"How does that even link?" Niou types his number into Marui's phone, handing it back to the red head.

"It just does," Marui answers. "Don't you think that it'll be fun?"

Niou hides a smile with his hand, thinking back to their high school days with the Rikkaidai regulars. Sanada's frown, Yukimura's smile, Yanagi's rambling, Yagyuu's politeness sticking out like a sore thumb in the rowdy group of boys, Jackal's groans at Marui's unreasonable demands, Kirihara's whining, and his and Marui's plots. After a few moments of walking down memory lane, Niou removes his hand from his lips, allowing the smile – now wider than before – to be seen, and says, "I guess it'll be fun…"

Marui beams. "Do you still keep in contact with the rest? Jackal's the only one I speak to on a weekly basis."

Niou scratches his head. "I have Hiroshi's number…he calls me regularly, I have a feeling that he's trying to make sure that I don't turn into a wanted criminal or something. Keeping me under his watch, that sneak."

Marui chuckles, clutching his stomach. "I can see why."

"Call Jackal to arrange a meet up, he probably has the brat's number and you know how Akaya will follow Yukimura and the other two all the way to the other side of the world until he manages to defeat them – which is never going to happen," says Niou, ignoring Marui.

"Hmmm…you actually want to do this I see," Marui smirks. "Even though I'm the one that suggested it, you seem more excited than me."

"Shut up. Just get calling already, I'll contact Hiroshi."

"Aye aye, captain!" Marui frowns, tapping a finger against his chin. "No. That title's unofficially reserved for Yukimura. You'll have to settle with 'pain in the arse'."

"Dipshit."

"That's uncalled for."

"Suck it up."

.~.

They scheduled their team reunion on the following Sunday – the only day all of them were available. Being working adults, it wasn't easy to randomly gather everyone and stuff them into a diner for a few hours. No, they had to make an appointment, to fit everyone's different and busy schedules. Niou always hated it, but then again, it was one of those busy working adults himself, so he couldn't really complain. Maybe that was why workingmen always had the dreary look on their faces whenever he passed by them on the streets while he was only a school boy. It makes Niou wonder sometimes whether he looked like that to the younger generation nowadays.

Climbing up the stairs to his apartment, Niou tugs on his tie and loosens it with his left hand, while his right clutches his briefcase. Marui is leaning against the door to his apartment, head tilted back, gazing at the ceiling and in his arms he holds the child from before. Leaving his tie half-loosened, Niou strides up to his friend and knocks him softly on the head with his fist. Marui turns and smiles, that toothy smile like in their graduation photos.

"What are you doing?"

"I got bored," Marui answers, adjusting his hold on the sleeping, Niou notices, boy. "Heisuke's not any help either. So I thought I'd look for you."

"Heisuke?"

"This lil' fella here."

Niou leans over to get a better look of the boy's face. Around about four years old, older than what Niou thought when he saw him for the first time, and straight black hair. He has long eyelashes for a boy, Niou also realizes. "Are you sure he's not yours?"

"I'm one hundred per cent sure he isn't. What makes you say that?"

"You look the part. Plus, it's hard to believe that you're actually taking care of a kid that isn't yours." Marui opens his mouth to rebut but Niou continues, "Don't even try to say that you took care of your brothers. I know for a fact that you dump them onto Jackal while you stuff your face with cake." Marui moves aside to let Niou open the door. Niou steps into his apartment and let Marui in, before closing the door behind him.

"I _do_ take care of my bros, just not all the time. And Heisuke's kind of my boss's kid, can't really say no can I?" Marui kicks off his shoes and enters, placing the sleeping Heisuke down onto the couch before sitting down himself. Niou's apartment was finally filled with furniture and the items in the pile of boxes from before were unpacked and the boxes disposed of. "I love your sofa, it's so much softer than mine. Niou, trade with me."

"No thanks, I don't want your stinky sofa." Niou shrugs off his blazer and his tie comes off after it. "Taking care of your boss's kid isn't your job. You're a secretary—I still don't know what possessed you to take up such a position—not a babysitter."

There is a glint in Marui's eye and he places his index finger on his lip, in the shushing notion. "It helps me get on her good side. Besides, it's only for Fridays when I leave work early."

"Ho…" Niou hums. He unbuttons the top button of his dress shirt, and sits down beside Marui.

"So Niou, where're my cookies?"

"Huh?"

"The cookies!" Marui exclaims, moving his fists up and down in the air, reminding Niou of the whiny, demanding brat he secretly is. "I told you to bake some!"

"I find it hard to believe you're an adult sometimes," Niou replies, rubbing his neck. "I don't even have the time to cook my three meals, let alone bake some goddamn cookies for a sugar freak."

"I don't mind if you sacrifice sleep for it."

"The only thing I'll sacrifice sleep for is sex."

"…fair enough." Marui surrenders. As if remembering that there is a child in the room, he quickly turns to Heisuke, who is fortunately, still soundly asleep. "You should watch what you say when there're kids present Niou."

"Tsk," Niou clicks his tongue. "He wouldn't even know what it means."

"Corrupting a child's pure mind is not good Niou, not good." Marui shakes his head, crossing his arms as if to prove a point. "Can you believe not understanding what sex was? I mean, as angelic little two, three year olds?"

"Angelic my ass," Niou snorts. "You're talking about the Terrible Twos and Tiresome Threes. But no, I cannot believe not knowing what the glorious act of sex is at any point of my life."

"You're disgusting."

"You're the one who continued on about the subject when you told me not to _corrupt a child's pure mind_ , hypocrite."

Marui glances at Heisuke at the corner of his eye and shrugs. "It's not as if he's awake."

"I rest my case."

"Shut up," Marui snaps with a roll of his eyes. "You're such a dick. I came all the way here with nothing but good intentions and maybe entertainment purposes, and you insult me, _and_ I didn't even get my cookies."

" _Excuse_ _me_ ," Niou scoffs. "You exaggerate. You barely have to walk a hundred metres to come over."

"Still."

"You are such a brat. Coffee?"

"Thought you'd never ask."

.~.

Niou pushes open the heavy glass doors into the diner, Marui a step behind him. Since they live pretty much at the same place, the duo went to the meeting place together. Niou glances around for familiar faces and catches sight of dark blue hair. A hand shoots up from that particular booth and waves frantically at the two of them. Marui laughs beside him and they make their way over to where Kirihara is acting like an overly excited five year old. The rest of the crew are already there.

"The brat's still a brat I see," Niou greets with a mock salute. "You and Marui should return to elementary school, I think neither of you have grown up yet. It's still too early for you to enter adulthood, young ones."

Niou sits down beside Yagyuu, who shuffled inwards, allowing space for the silver haired male. Marui sits opposite him, beside Jackal and his face expressed offense. Before either Kirihara or Marui could say a word, Yanagi cuts in.

"Still rude as always Niou."

Yukimura laughs while Yagyuu tries to cover his own with a cough – which ended up turning into a coughing fit. Niou grins in response. Yanagi was sneaky; the part Niou liked about the data master, sneakier than Niou himself could be, if he tried. Niou flicks his eyes around the table, taking in the new looks his friends sported. His eyes fall on Sanada and Niou chokes on air. If he was drinking, he would surely have spat out the contents onto Marui in front of him.

"What's with that caterpillar on your face, Sanada?"

Sanada's eyes turns into deadly slits.

"He doesn't appreciate you calling his, what do you call it, _moustache_ —which he took a whole year to grow by the way—a caterpillar, Niou," Yukimura replies instead, with a smirk and a wink.

Niou rubs his chin and pretends to give his ex-vice captain a contemplative onceover. "I don't know." He nudges Marui under the table with his foot. "Dude, you agree that our esteemed ex-vice-captain looks like a paedophile?"

Marui laughs with his head thrown back, and Niou smiles, ignoring the growl coming from his side. "Makes you wonder what happens in that dojo, right?"

Jackal chokes while Yukimura and Yanagi each grabs hold of Sanada's arms.

"Niou-kun, you mentioned moving houses a while back?" Yagyuu wisely steers the conversation into safe territory.

"You're not any fun, Hiroshi." Niou rolls his eyes and leans back. "Yeah, moved into Marui's block. You should've seen Marui's face when he saw me."

"Hey! _You_ were as surprised as I was."

"I certainly did not make that silly eye-bugging expression."

"Now you're just lying."

"Who's hungry?"

"I am— _what?_ " Niou incredulously stares at Kirihara. The younger male has his head stuck between the pages of the menu. All Niou could see is the tips of his unruly hair. Yukimura chuckles and gives him a shrug. Niou shakes his head and sighs, a silent truce was agreed between Marui and himself.

Their meal arrived soon after, and the gang caught up with each other. Despite not being together for years, there never was a moment of awkwardness. It was as if time had not moved for any of them, and that they were still in high school, living the days of tennis practice, laughter, and youth.

At that moment, they all knew, that no matter where they are, how long it has been, they will always be friends forever.

.~.

Sundays became Niou and Marui's unofficial hang out day—Niou's place being the rendezvous.

It had been four months since Niou reunited with Marui on the staircase, juggling the keys to his new apartment in his hand. After meeting up with the gang at the diner, Niou and Marui found themselves stumbling into Niou's apartment, intoxicated. One thing led to another; dirty jokes, random-ass pillow fights, more alcohol, dissing each other's manliness, waking up with the worst hangover _ever_ —they found themselves back in the same situation the next Sunday. Minus the whole getting thoroughly and utterly pissed thing, because Niou complained the entire Monday morning _and_ afternoon about how it was a pain in the ass working with a killer headache.

It didn't stop the beer cans from making their presence in the two bedroom apartment though.

"So," Marui drawls, sprawled out on Niou's sofa, "why'd you move here?"

"You ask me that _now_?"

"What? There's no deadline for this kind of shit. There _is_ a deadline, however, on those cookies you owe me. You know what, by the end of this month, if I still don't see that batch of cookies, you owe me a cake—no, make that _three_ cakes—on top of it. Now, spill."

"You pig." Niou opens a can of beer with a _pop_ , and chugs it before continuing, "Well, it's an interesting story if you must know."

"Oh?"

"Yes. How should I start…well, it all started in a bar—"

"Is this going to be some kind of drunken story or some shit?"

"—and, what? No. Maybe. Do you want me to tell the story or not?" Marui lazily waves his hand in the air. "As I was saying, in this bar, I met this woman. Sexy blonde with the longest legs I've ever seen—stop that. You know what I'm talking about, that, yes, that, stop that. Obviously you don't want to hear the details so long story cut short, we went out, dated, whatever you want to call it. A few weeks later, I broke it off and then, you know all those dramas Yukimura's sister forces us to watch? I get calls, letters, gifts and all that stalkerish crap, because what do you know, she turns out to be a major psychotic bitch and so I packed everything and ran away. Thus, concludes my story."

"Liar. This reeks so much of bullshit I bet Jackal can smell it from his place, _ten thousand whatever bullshit kilometres away_. You're such a wanker, Niou."

Niou arches an eyebrow and gulps down another mouthful of beer. "If you must know, I do _not_ —"

"You're disgusting."

"You brought it up."

"I didn't mean it literally, for Pete's sake."

"Maybe you should specify yourself next time."

"You. You know what, screw this, where's my can?"

"You're going to get drunk. And when you complain to me tomorrow, I'm going to say: I told you so."

Marui shoots a glare at Niou and grunts. Turning his head so that he's facing the cushions, he says, "Fuck you. I'm sleeping."

"Goodnight." Niou raises his can in the air as if toasting and takes another swig. Leaning back onto his palms, supporting his weight, Niou gazes at the moon in the night sky through the window. A soft snore catches his attention and Niou swings his head around to blink at his friend, who is sleeping soundly on his couch. A faint hint of a smile later, Niou is pushing himself off the ground, closing his eyes for a few seconds to rid the dizziness he encountered from his movement. He contemplates carrying—or most likely dragging, given his condition—Marui into the spare bedroom but decides against it.

Marui would most definitely find ways to blame him for whatever rug burns he may get during the journey from his couch to the spare bed.

Grabbing the blanket from the spare bed, Niou drapes it over Marui and _stares_.

He had stared at Marui for God knows long. Niou tilts his head up and pinches the bridge of his nose, wondering why the hell he did that. Shaking his head, and immediately regretting it after when he was overwhelmed with the need to puke his guts out, Niou drags his feet into his own bedroom and was out like a light before he knew it.

.~.

"Jackal has a girlfriend," Marui announces, throwing his phone down _hard_ on the couch. It bounces a few times before lying still.

"Mm?" Niou hums, not taking his eyes off the screen. The World Cup's on and nothing is going to make him miss a second—except maybe toilet breaks.

"He wants us to meet her. Apparently."

"Why?"

"The fuck should I know?"

There is something in Marui's tone that makes Niou frown. He reluctantly peels his eyes away from the glowing screen to scrutinize the red head. "Are you on bad terms with Jackal?"

"That's absurd," Marui replies. He's not lying; Niou can tell, but there's still something not quite right with Marui's answer. Marui props his elbow on the hand rest, taking interest in the match airing on the television. He's a portrait of serenity—from Niou's angle at the very least. "Tell me a day you're good."

"What?"

Marui huffs in annoyance and glances at him. The former Trickster of Rikkaidai immediately absorbed the information he took in to be examined further in the near future, because that nagging feeling in his gut is going strong. "For the meeting. I have to text Jackal back to let him know."

"Sunday. We're always free on Sundays. It's not like we have anything planned." Niou shrugs nonchalantly. His eyes still vigilant for any hints.

Marui's lips are pressed into a thin line.

The red head stands up suddenly, grabs his phone from where he threw it and walks towards the front door. "I'll let him know."

Without a backwards glance or even a farewell, Marui left a nonplussed Niou on the couch while the television blared out cheers and applause. Realising he'd failed to witness the first goal of the match, Niou lets out a colourful stream of words in dismay.

.~.

Marveeti Gopal is a beautiful, charming, and funny lady. Straight pearly teeth, flawless dark skin, and pretty black curls that just brushes her shoulders. Jackal's a lucky man indeed—is Niou's observation.

"—grabbed my hands and tried to pull me up, mumbling apologies throughout, but then he slipped on the wet ground and fell backwards onto his bum instead."

"Oh my god," Jackal moans, hiding his hands behind his face in embarrassment. "I should have known you'd humiliate me in front of my friends."

Niou grins and splatters another glob of chilli sauce onto his burger. Marui's laughing boisterously beside him, across from the Brazilian. As Niou bites into his food, he can't help but notice the slight falseness in the red head's laughter. Just a tinge, but it was there nonetheless.

Niou can't help but wonder yet again whether Marui was at odds with Jackal. His other friend did not show any signs of hostility however. Mind-boggling, it is. Tuning back into the conversation, Niou decides to figure it out another time; Marui never was a good liar, and Niou's specialty is to crack down on lies and filter out the truth—things would come to light eventually.

"—asked me out while I was standing in the rain, soaked to the bone, looking all disgruntled and grotesque—"

"You were anything but!" Jackal cut in.

"I looked into the mirror when I reached home, Jackal. My mascara was running down my cheeks, my hair was plastered to my face—flat and completely unflattering—don't lie—"

"I'm not," Jackal protests, "I thought you were— _are—_ the most beautiful person I've ever met."

Marveeti shakes her head in resignation and smiles at Marui. "Isn't he just a soppy cornball?"

Marui's nodding furiously and chuckling at Jackal's expense, unable to reply, so Niou says instead, "I think you two are awfully disgusting," with a cheeky grin. "This sappiness is making me nauseous. Jackal, man up, what ever happened to our wall of defence?"

Marveeti's eyebrows shoot up to her hairline as she swirls around to her boyfriend. "Wall of defence, I hear?"

Niou sees Jackal's hand moving towards Marveeti, and he _knows_ that they're holding hands under the table. "Tennis, love."

"Oh, nothing kinky or suggestive to that title?" Marveeti teases.

"W-what?" Jackal splutters and Marui chokes on his water. Niou merely widen his eyes.

"From what I hear, you and your friends have been close since middle school. I wouldn't be surprised to hear about any inter-team mingling, if you know what I mean," she smirks and Niou wants to give her a high-five. Jackal's a very lucky man indeed.

From the corner of his eye, he sees Marui's face turn pale at the insinuation. Cursing inwardly, Niou gobbles up the rest of his burger and asks, "Do you play tennis, Gopal?"

"No, no. I'm awfully bad at sports. Once Jackal tried to teach me how to play and I gave him a black eye instead."

Niou raises an eyebrow at the statement, clarifying, "You punched him?"

"No!" Jackal exclaims, aghast. The rest of his sentence is mumbled and Niou failed to catch it.

"Pardon?"

"I whacked him with the racket. He was trying to teach me the, what was it, babe? The swing—"

"The forehand, love."

Niou crinkles his nose. "Again, I mention how you two disgust me with your pet names."

"I'm sure you call your girlfriends 'honey', 'cutie-pie', or something horrendous like 'cupcake'," Marui coos, smacking his lips together.

"As a matter of fact, I do not," Niou sniffs in disdain, exaggerating hurt that his friend would think so lowly of him. The way Marui plays with his fries does not escape Niou's observations.

A hyena's laughter blasts out of nowhere and both Marui and Niou jump in their seats. Marveeti smiles sweetly at them and pulls out her mobile from her handbag, putting an end to the horrific ringtone, before excusing herself. The two stare incredulously at Jackal who is unconcerned, nor surprised, and contently digging his fork into a bacon.

As if he could feel their eyes gouging through his body, Jackal looks up confused. "What? Why are you staring at me like that? Stop it."

"That's some choice," Marui remarks uncertainly.

"Indeed," Niou agrees, continuing, "but fucking brilliant. Dude, imagine the _pranks_ I can do with that!"

"What?" Jackal's thoroughly confused; his face showing it all.

"Your girlfriend's awesome," is all Niou says, and that was that.

Marui pushes his plate away—half-eaten—and slides down in his seat. "Yes, she is." He looks up at Jackal at smiles a toothy smile. "I wish I could be you."

What Jackal took as a joke, Niou found serious, and the gears in his brain started to whirl.

"I'm sure you'll find someone you love too, Bunta." Jackal beams, clearly happy that his friends approve of his girlfriend. "There's a girl out there who's just right for you. I know it." His eyes flick over to Niou and clearing his throat, he adds, "You too Niou."

"Why," Niou drawls wryly, "I'm flattered you thought about me too, Jackal."

It all clicked into place and Niou feels so _stupid_.

The signs were all there. The constipated look Marui tried to hide whenever Jackal freely showed his affection for Marveeti in public, the 'do you have a girlfriend?' question directed to _both_ him and Marui, Marui's slightly faked happiness, Marui's words 'I wish I could be you'; everything was so blatantly out _there_ and Niou have never felt like a worse friend in his entire life.

.~.

"No one else knows."

"Looks like I'm out of coffee. I'll pour myself another cup, want some, Niou?"

"I'm right, aren't I?"

"I'll just get some myself then."

" _Marui_."

Marui halts, his back facing Niou. "Drop it, Niou."

"I will _not_. You never even told _Jackal_ , you _always_ —"

"Drop it. I'm—"

"—thought you would trust him! You—"

"—is none of your b—"

"—planning on keeping it a secret your whole—"

" _I'm telling you to leave it alone!"_ Marui's shoulders shook. Niou can see it from the distance. The two breathed heavily as the echo of Marui's yell died down.

Niou wants to reach out and press Marui against his body, hold him tight, breathe him in, and tell him that he's not alone, because _he's_ here and he can tell him anything. He doesn't—can't—because he knows Marui will push him away and hide further into the shell of his, refusing to believe that Niou's not saying that out of pity. Niou knows because Yukimura was the same way when he fell ill.

As he stares at the red mop of hair, Niou can only painfully croak out a pathetic "…why?"

Not a _why don't you want to continue the conservation_ , but a _why are you hiding?_

Marui is silent for a long time, and when Niou starts to think that he wouldn't answer, he whispers, just loud enough to carry across the room into the silver haired male's ears, "You wouldn't understand, Niou."

He doesn't stop Marui from leaving.

.~.

A few days later with no contact from Marui, Niou trudges up the stairs to the red head's apartment. Knocking on the door, Niou shoves his hands in his jean's pockets, rocking backwards and forwards on his soles.

Marui's eyes are bloodshot as he opens the door. The two stare at each other.

Niou breathes and takes the initiative. "I won't talk about it for now."

"Okay." Marui is hesitant in his reply.

"But we will. You know that, right? We will talk about it later. Not now, but later, we will."

Marui visibly stiffens, before relaxing slightly. "I know."

"Good."

.~.

They are lying on the soapy floor, face up towards the ceiling, bodies trembling with laughter. Niou's hair is the equivalent to a soapy afro and Marui has a streak of green liquid detergent running down his cheek.

"My stomach aches," Marui gasps out. "Laughed…too much."

"At least we know your stomach muscles won't be flabby."

"The horror." Marui rolls over onto his belly. "Flabby stomach muscles, how will I ever survive?"

Niou remains sprawled out like a starfish while Marui tries, and fails, to sit up. "Flabby stomach muscles are a crime against humanity. I would be forced to send you to Pluto where you can live with all the other _Flabstomuses._ "

"Flabstomuses? Is that your way of mashing," Marui pauses, "three words together?"

"A creative license, that's all."

"More like a creative _poo_ -cense."

"Let's see you do any better."

"Ah, the tragic fall of the Trickster. To think I'd ever be witness to this moment of history." Marui shakes his head like a wet dog, flinging soap bubbles around the kitchen. Niou narrows his eyes at a particular bubble drifting towards him, cringing as it got closer and closer to him, before finally popping mere centimetres away from his mouth. He splutters and gags.

"Soap tastes nasty. Gross." Niou flings his arms upwards and forwards, using the momentum to bring his body upright. He scrutinizes the state of his kitchen and remarks, "How did this happen?"

Soap and water were everywhere; the floor, drawers, sink, even the fridge. Hell, not even the little herb plant was spared. Niou moans at the loss and makes a mental note to purchase a new one.

"You wanted to clean."

"I must have done a smashing job. Isn't everything simply _sparkling_?"

"Aren't you just Mr Grouchy-and-Woefully-Sarcastic?" Marui stands and offers a hand to Niou, who accepted. "Let's clean ourselves up and get back to tackling this." Then, with a sly grin, the red head shoves Niou towards a wall and slides out of the kitchen. "The shower's mine!"

"You cheat!"

.~.

"No, that's fucking stupid."

 _"_ _You really ought to watch your language."_

"Oh, don't be such a stick in the arse. You've known me for about half your life, Hiroshi."

 _"_ _And my words have fallen on deaf ears for that many years."_

"If you want to waste your breath, it's up to you. You sure as hell know I won't _refine_ my language for your, or anyone else's as a matter of fact, tender baby ears." Niou tucks his cell phone between his ear and shoulder, hands scraping furiously at the stain in his coffee mug. "Anyhow, back to the topic, that's fucking stupid."

 _"_ _Niou-kun…"_ Yagyuu is exasperated from his tone. _"It's a baby shower. Just get her a towel or toys. It's really_ not _a 'fucking stupid' idea as you keep putting it."_

"I know you were just quoting me, but holy fuck, Hiroshi, you swore."

 _"_ _Niou-kun…"_

"Yeah, yeah, you swear too, you're a normal man who swears like a sailor. I get it." The stubborn stain finally ceased to exist and Niou places the mug on the drying rack. Flicking his hands in the sink, Niou continues, "But we don't know the sex yet—fucking Mitsumi wants to be _surprised_. There are only two choices! Fifty-fifty, what the fuck kind of _surprise_ does she want? An alien or a mutant-octopus? What if I get something too, I don't know, _girly_ and it turns out to be a boy or I get something too _boyish_ and it turns out to be a fucking girl because life loves to fuck me sideways like that."

 _"_ Language _. There are items that are unisex, Niou-kun."_

"Yes, smarty-pants. Neutral. Why didn't you just _say_ that from the beginning?" Niou hears Yagyuu counting to ten under his breath, and smirks, giving himself a pat to the back. Getting Yagyuu riled up was a challenge, and Niou loves challenges. Just put the two and two together. "Are your panties in a twist yet?"

 _"_ _Please be serious."_

"I'm sorry. I can't be _Sirius_. I, unfortunately, do not have the ability to morph into a dog."

 _"_ _Stop."_

"Stopping is overrated. Puns on the other hand are the treasures of life."

 _"_ _I don't understand how Marui-kun puts up with you."_

"He's been putting up with me like how you've been _putting_ those golf balls into the hole."

 _"…_ _that was a horrendous one."_

"My wit takes vacations once in a while. It just so happens to fall on today."

 _"_ _Right. Why don't you ask Marui-kun for suggestions?"_

"You're just trying to dump me on him, aren't you?"

 _"_ _Mhm."_

"You're not even going to lie?"

 _"_ _No."_

"Fuck you Hiroshi."

 _"_ _I apologise but I would have to turn you down on that offer, Niou-kun."_

"I'm rubbing off on you."

 _"_ _Unfortunately so. I have to go. Adieu."_

"Fucking _Adieu._ "

Niou rolls his eyes and cuts the line. Without delay, he pulls Marui out of his contacts and sends him a message.

_shopping trip, you're invited_

A reply lights up on his screen within seconds.

**_what where why_ **

_no questions. I'll be up in 10. be ready_

.~.

"Your sister's having a baby?"

"That's what I said."

"Sorry." The two walk down the aisles of the department store aimlessly; Niou with a bored look, and Marui in slight shock. "Haven't seen Mitsumi since high school, I never knew she got married."

Niou wrinkles his nose. "It was a set-up really. Father made this deal with a big-shot and one part of it was for Mitsumi and Shinto to be engaged."

"That's barbaric," Marui remarks, raising an eyebrow. "Didn't think Mitsumi would agree with something like that."

"She didn't. Not at first. Neither party were happy about it. But they hit it off in the end, really, Shinto's Mitsumi's type. So she says. All this _before_ they even got married, mind you. In a span of six months, you'd think they've been together for years and that the entire relationship was their idea." Niou stops to play with one of those singing toys. "They would have called it off if they really couldn't stand each other's guts. The deal didn't say it had to be permanent, Father wouldn't be _that_ cruel even for a billion dollars."

"Oh. Stop that." Marui swats Niou's hand away from yet another singing doll. "You don't suppose you'd be placed in the same situation…do you?"

"Hell no."

"Pretty sure that's what your sister thought before it happened."

"I'm certain. Right after the announcement I stomped up to my father and ensured that no such thing will _ever_ fall upon myself." Niou halts and eyes a ceramic tea set; both of them having wandered away from the Toys Section and into the Kitchen  & Cutlery Section. "Mitsumi said something about tea. Or was it coffee? Can't remember."

"Shouldn't you get something for the baby?"

"The baby can be an alien for all I know."

"Niou!"

"What? It's genderless at the moment."

"Just because you don't know the gender doesn't mean it's genderless. For goodness sake, just get a towel and be done with it."

Niou looks up to the ceiling and groans. "Why in ever loving fuck did Hiroshi think you'd come up with better suggestions?" Tilting his head to the side, silver strands falling over his eyes like a curtain, Niou sighs and says, "I said this to Hiroshi and I'll say this to you too: that's fucking stupid."

Marui's jaw drops as his eyes bugged out. "It is _not_! Besides, _you're_ the one who dragged me out without any explanations whatsoever. If you don't want to listen to my ideas, fine! I'll just go home."

Niou shifts his weight onto one leg and smirks, "No, you won't."

"And why is that?" Marui challenges, eyes narrowed into slits.

"You love me too much." Turning suddenly, Niou continues walking down the aisle, ceramic tea set forgotten. With barely a glance over his shoulder, he says, "Come on, let's find something for that alien-child."

.~.

They finally breach _The Topic_ one sweltering Sunday night.

"I don't want people to look at me like I'm some sort of circus _freak_."

"You're not. You know you're not."

"You don't _know_ the things people have in their minds, Niou."

"Then how do _you_?"

"…I've seen it. I've seen it happen."

The air is still. Marui is curled up into a ball on the sofa. Niou looks up at him from his spot on the floor and the sight informs him of all the horrible things his friend had seen—things they've all more or less experienced, growing up. It's during these times that Niou wishes they're all back in middle school; playing tennis and fooling around like monkeys.

"We'll still be here, you know. All of us." Niou is confident as he says it. "We'll stick by your side. I'm still here, aren't I?"

"…I know. Niou, I—" Marui pauses, exhaling deeply, "…thank you."

Niou nods and takes a sip from his beer can.

Peter Pan never wanted to grow up. Five years old, Niou thought it was a stupid idea. Now, at twenty-six, he thinks he understands why. Life is a cruel master for those who age.

.~.

**_told Jackal. he's cool._ **

Niou reads the texts and smiles.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been more than a _year_ since I posted the first chapter, holy shit. This shows how much I jump around fandoms and into other OTPs, I sincerely apologise. NiouMarui will remain my Number 1 regardless of how much I love my other OTPs because they hold a special place in my heart. Anyone still here? Don't give up on me please!
> 
>  **Warning(s):** Homophobia (this topic is mentioned in this chapter, be warned), Crude Language, UnBeta'd etc.

**Part Two**

.

.

.

"Marui?" Niou sniffs, his nose swollen and red from the constant friction against wads of tissues. He _hates_ falling sick; his movements become all sluggish, _everything_ feels cold, and his appetite is somewhere in Never-Ever-Land. Not to mention the horrible nights suffocating from a _blocked nose_! He holds the door open with his left hand and blinks wearily at the red head. "What are you doing here?"

"A little birdie told me you succumbed to a cold bug," Marui replied, darting forwards, pushing Niou back into the apartment and kicking the door shut with his leg.

"I'm not dead."

"Never said you were." Niou yawns and watches his friend flit about through blurry eyes. Marui dumps a big bundle of _something_ onto the sofa and approaches him, steering him back into the bedroom, where Niou was lying in bed cursing the world and drowning in misery a few minutes before. "Man, you look terrible. You really should rest. Want some soup?"

Niou allows his friend to direct him and answers, "No. Can't eat."

"Oh? Well, too bad. You still got to drink—yes, drink, not eat, there's a difference. I already made some, don't let my efforts go to waste, ungrateful beast."

Niou obediently settles under the covers and replies, "Tormenting the sick with verbal abuse. Real evil of you, Marui."

"Like you said, you're not d—"

_"_ _BUNTA!"_

Slower muscle reflexes and sluggishness be damned, Niou jolts upright and his head spins so quickly one would have thought he snapped his neck. "Who's that?"

"Nothing to worry about," Marui chides, waving his hands in the air, gesturing for his friend to return to his rest. Niou grudgingly obliges and eyes the red head closely as he trots to the open door and yells, " _Just a sec!"_ Turning so that he's facing Niou, Marui wears a cheery smile and asks, "Heisuke, you remember him?"

"You brought that kid here?"

"It's Friday."

"Aren't you supposed to keep kids _away_ from—" Niou breaks off with a sudden sneeze, as if to prove a point,"—sick people?" His hand frantically patting the mattress for the box of tissues he kept for the night. "Not _to_ them?"

"He'll be fine. Children can be surprisingly strong you know. It's not as if you get sick every time someone coughs on you—you'd be sick every single moment of your life!" Marui nonchalantly shrugs off the argument. "Just get some rest. I'll be back with your soup in a few. Don't mind if I use your microwave."

With that, he left, leaving Niou a snivelling mess on the bed.

.~.

"So…kid calls you Bunta." Niou spoons up the last drop of soup into his mouth, his appetite having recovered miraculously upon seeing the bowl of steaming hot chicken soup.

"And?"

"Not much, just didn't know you were that close to him."

"I _do_ take care of him once a week. Besides, it was either that or _Oji-san_ and God forbid someone call me an uncle when I'm still at my peak." Marui tilts his head to the side and bites on his bottom lip. "You know…we _have_ known each other for quite some time. You call Yagyuu by his first name, don't you?"

"Yes." Niou follows what Marui is saying and something clicks in his mind. Smirking, Niou leans forwards as much as he could—darn the flu (and Marui), for confining him to the bed—and says, his voice unintentionally husky, " _Bunta_."

Marui jumps out of his seat, he even had the girly squeal, which brings up _so_ much middle and high school memories, to accompany it. "W-wh—NIOU!"

Niou turns his head to the side and laughs, coughs interrupting his laughing fit on occasions. Recovering, he grins at the red faced Marui and cheekily remarks, "You wanted me to call you Bunta, didn't you? Admit it, you do."

It was humorous watching Marui splutter and turn redder and redder, till he was nearly the same shade as his hair. When he could finally come up with a coherent sentence, Marui crosses his arms across his chest and grumpily claims, "You're delirious. Your fever must have melted your brain. I'm leaving, get some sleep."

Niou simply laughs.

It was unexpectedly nice, having his name on his tongue.

.~.

Immensely bored out of his mind, Niou slides down so that his head rested just so on the back of the couch. Flipping back and forth between channels, he hears the munching on popcorn on his right. "You have any DVDs?"

"No. Downloads are way better."

"Illegal."

"Everyone's doing it." Niou hears the rustling of a packet and it enters his line of sight the next second. "Want some?"

He takes a handful because he doesn't have anything else to do. His free hand jams the buttons on the remote again. The television goes mute and Niou curses, albeit incomprehensible with his mouth full of buttery goodness. He doesn't bother fixing the volume. It wasn't as if there was anything worth listening to.

"Of all days, we _had_ to run out of beer today," Niou complains, slamming a palm over his eyes.

"Not my fault you didn't bother to stock up."

"Well, I didn't expect you to finish a gallon by yourself."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Not."

"Too."

"Not—my god, we're babies."

"You said it." Niou groans. "Please tell me you have a fucking badass movie on your laptop or wherever the hell you download them into?"

"My laptop's at the shops for repair." Marui flings a popcorn in the air and catches it with his mouth. "Seems like we're out of luck."

"Shut up and give me those goddamn popcorns."

.~.

"I spoke to Jackal today," Marui announces out of the blue, and Niou raises a silvery eyebrow, looking at the red head from his peripheral vision. "He said I should try dating."

Niou involuntarily clenched his fist and his jaw tightened. Feeling a strange knot in his stomach, Niou shrugs and grunts in response. Marui doesn't continue, and the jolly Seven-Eleven advertisement fills the room. Curious, Niou turns to face his friend and asks, "Have you ever gone on dates with, you know, men?"

"No."

"Why not?"

Niou sees the red head fidget before sighing. Tracing circles with his index finger on the sofa, Marui answers, "It's not like I can go up to a guy on the street and ask them out, hoping they share the same sexual preference. I mean, I've heard of places where people like…me go to, but I've never…"

"No, I get it," Niou interrupts, sensing his friend's unease. "It was a stupid question, sorry."

The television sings in the background, neither of them paying much attention to the programme anymore.

"Do you agree with Jackal?"

"What?"

"That I should try dating?" Marui blows out, his fringe flying briefly before hanging back down over his eyes. "Expose myself to the, um, culture?"

"…if you want to?" Niou manages to grit out, the words feeling like sandpaper against his tongue.

After what felt like eternity, Marui says, "I'll think about it." The knot in his stomach tightens and Niou ignores it, focusing on the television once more, trying to understand the show after missing multiple scenes. "Niou?"

"Yeah?"

"Why haven't you been dating?"

"What?" Taken aback by the sudden question, Niou drops all pretences to enjoy the film and stares at Marui.

"Nothing much." Marui shrugs off, still tracing circles on the couch. "Was just wondering why you haven't gone on a date since you moved here. It's been over a year, I thought you'd at least have _one_ date in that timeframe."

"I guess I haven't gotten over the trauma of stalker ex," Niou jokes, earning a roll of the eyes and a glare. Quieting, Niou gives the topic a long think over and eventually says, in barely a whisper, "I don't know." Quirking a small smile, he continues, "I suppose I'd rather hang out with you."

Marui quickly turns away, hiding his face behind his mop of red hair. The rest of the evening is filled with nothing but the sounds from the television. The knot in Niou's stomach seems to have unravelled a little, but it didn't help him reach any conclusion.

Niou detests unsolved puzzles.

.~.

Niou whistles, shoving his hand into a tub of popcorn they popped in his kitchen—the stains in his microwave leaving proof of their feat. "She's hot."

"Damn right."

"Shut it, you're gay."

"Don't be an ass, Niou."

"Yeah yeah, you can still appreciate the female body. I _know_ ," Niou rattles while Marui rolls his eyes at the silver head's antics. An explosion booms in the movie and Niou comments, "Oh look, she blew up."

"The tears of all men who watch this."

"Hush, we're getting to the good part."

.~.

When Niou left the office at six in the evening, he expected to find himself following the same old route back home, sprawl right out on his comfy ass sofa, and maybe have a drink or two in front of the television.

He certainly did not expect to find Marui Bunta drunk as shit in the corridor, long legs blocking the way with his back against his apartment door, an empty bottle or two rolling beside the red head. The red head was barely coherent, head lolling to the side.

Barely getting over his shock, Niou curses and briskly covers the distance, kicking the empty bottles to the side, taking note to dispose of them properly later, and drags his friend up onto his feet. Marui immediately crumples against him as his knees gave way. Niou swears again. Holding Marui upright with one arm, Niou fumbles for his keys and with a jerk, the door opened. He quickly pulls Marui into his apartment and slams the door shut, leaning against the back of the door with his eyes squeezed tightly shut for a few seconds of respite before attempting the distance to the couch.

Multiple questions enters and leaves his mind as he drags Marui towards the couch. "Fuck, Marui," he mutters when he stumbles from the deadweight that is his friend.

"Nn…Ni—"

"Shut up," Niou snaps at the drunken man, tossing him not so gently onto the piece of furniture. "You're going to be explaining _a hell of a lot_ when you're sober and coherent. So, you shut up and rest now."

Marui looks up at him with blurred eyes. The red head blinks once, twice, thrice; each time so slowly Niou could never figure out whether they were blinks or whether his friend had drifted off to dreamland until violet eyes revealed themselves once more. He licks his lips. "Ni…" Marui mumbles, obviously even in his drunken state, Marui is incapable of listening to Niou's instructions,"…ou. Niou…"

Niou eyes his friend and darts into the kitchen, returning with a glass of water in his hand. "Since you refuse to sleep like a good little boy, drink." Marui groans in response, squeezing his eyes shut and turning away from the offered glass. Niou narrows his eyes and thrusts the glass closer. " _Drink_."

It wasn't easy to get the liquid into a stubborn Marui, but Niou manages, after many years of being one's friend, Niou knows all his weaknesses and how to exploit them.

Placing the now empty glass onto the coffee table, Niou sighs and runs his fingers through his tousled hair. "Do you feel like puking?" Marui weakly shakes his head. Niou stands for a few moments, contemplating, before grabbing a bucket and placing it on the carpet, just at the right position should Marui decide to throw up. "Lie on your side," Niou instructs, rolling his eyes when Marui failed to comply and forcibly moved the red head himself. "I don't want you choking on your vomit and dying on my couch. Imagine the accusations that will fly my way, no thank you."

When he is finally satisfied that Marui can be left alone to rest and perhaps sober up for a while, Niou continues, "I'm going to take a shower. Don't _move_ , unless you have to puke and then I gladly ask you to aim right _into the bucket_."

"Mm…"

"Right." Niou sighs, throwing Marui a second worried glance before leaving to complete the task he set off to do.

.~.

Marui is awake and staring up at the ceiling when he returned. _Lying on his back_ , Niou thinks as he grits his teeth, _I will not have any part in this if he decides to choke on his bile after I had made the effort to save him from that fate._ But as he thinks again, Niou shrugs and decides that Marui should be able to save himself as long as he's not unconscious—which he obviously isn't, seeing as he defied Niou's orders to stay still.

"Can't sleep?"

"No."

Niou startles, not having expected a reply, and nearly drops the towel he was using to dry his hair. "Want to talk?"

Marui's jaw tightens as his lips fuse into a straight line. After a long moment of silence, Marui answers, "Not really. Maybe." He sighs. "I don't know."

Niou plants himself onto the coffee table and leans forwards, resting his elbows on his thighs. "You're fairly coherent for someone I found drunk silly not thirty minutes ago."

Marui doesn't reply—not that Niou was expecting one once again. He fiddles his thumb, distracting himself in the silence. His stomach growls and Niou realises he had missed dinner. Cursing for what was probably the thousandth time that night, Niou glances at his friend and finds Marui finally in the state of slumber. A half-smile creeps up on Niou's face and files the few minutes conversation into what he labels as _'stupid and strange things Marui does when drunk'_ —he has a collection now; one that only continues to grow as time passes. Niou likes to remember these events, being particularly useful as blackmail material. Out of all their friends, his mental folder of Kirihara topped the rest by a milestone.

His stomach growls again, reminding its owner of the discomfort should he continue to ignore his hunger. He relents, allowing his stomach to lead him into the kitchen where he fixes himself a microwavable meal. Just as the machine beeps in announcement, Niou hears mumbling from the living room. Guessing that Marui is up once more, Niou pulls the plastic container—swearing at the heat against his skin—and briskly walks towards the coffee table, where he dumps his meal onto the surface, blowing tenderly on his tingling fingers.

"…Niou?"

"Why is it that you can't go to sleep like every other person who drank more than their own body weight?" Niou says, rolling his eyes as he digs into his food. He doesn't look at his friend, and continues, "If you simply refuse to—"

"Is being gay disgusting?" He is cut off and in his shock, half chewed food falls from his mouth. Niou whips his head around and sees Marui's half-lidded eyes. "Niou…did you—"

"—up, Marui. You're drunk, go—"

"—think I was gross back then? When I—"

The air is tense as Marui whispers the last few words. Niou feels it gripping at his throat as he chokes. Marui still looks at him with those half-lidded eyes and his lips is twisted into a wry smile. Niou cannot—he cannot—he's choking and he _needs_ —Marui's eyes drift shut as his expression transforms knowingly— _no_ , Niou struggles to form the words. But before he can, Marui is asleep—unable to listen to anything he can say.

Niou clenches his fist, his heart sinks into his stomach.

"Never," he whispers anyway. "Never. _Ever_."

.~.

_When Jackal called him to arrange a meeting, Niou had to admit he was more than stunned. Never had the Brazilian met with Niou alone, they never were the closer of the team; Jackal was more Marui's best friend as Yagyuu was to Niou._

_So when he walked into the designated family restaurant, Niou didn't know what to expect._

_"_ _You know about Bunta," Jackal had stated straight up, before Niou had even taken a peek at the menu._

_"_ _Yes."_

_"_ _When?" Niou had pursed his lips, eyes narrowed as he accessed his long time friend. Jackal seemed to know of his scrutiny and had waved his hand, saying, "I'm not condemning him. It's not—I—nothing will ever change between us. He can fart rainbows, have horns and a crab for a nose, and I will still be his friend."_

_"_ _What do you want to know?"_

_"_ _I want to know your thoughts." Jackal had paused to stir his coffee. He then looked up and continued, "You kept it from the rest of us. I want to know why."_

_"_ _It wasn't my right to tell anyone. Not then, not now."_

_"_ _But you support him."_

_"_ _You support him," Niou had countered, raising his eyebrows in mocked confusion._

_"_ _You're right." Jackal took a sip. "I do." He raised a hand to flag a waiter and rattled off an order, gesturing to Niou to do the same. The waiter left with both their orders and Jackal had said, "But that doesn't answer my question: when?"_

_"_ _Why aren't you asking Marui?"_

_Jackal had wryly smiled then, with a tilt of his head and a shrug of his shoulders, the Brazilian held out his arms and said, "You're a good friend, Niou. I'm proud to be able to call you that. As will Marui." Jackal later grinned, and the tension between them dissolved in a flash. It was hard to imagine that there was to begin with, both having been friends for many years and never having bad blood between them not even once. "And to answer your question: I did. He told me to ask you, so here we are."_

_Niou had rolled his eyes. "You could have said that to start with."_

_"_ _But what's the fun in that?"_

_"_ _I always thought you were the more serious of the team. I'm starting to rethink that."_

_"_ _It only took you ten years."_

_"_ _Perhaps you changed after we graduated."_

_"_ _Your skills at derailing the subject is as remarkable as always." Jackal smiled. He thanked the waiter for the food and turned his attention back onto Niou. "I would have fallen for it if it weren't for my first hand experience of your expertise all those years ago. How did you find out?"_

_Niou had sighed and shook his head in defeat. "High school. Third year. Just before graduation actually." He neatly sliced his potatoes. Looking Jackal in the eye, he had said, "He confessed to me. That's how I found out."_

_Jackal's eyes had widened as he gaped, and Niou could understand his surprise, for he had remembered being more than stupefied back then. And Niou Masaharu was not one to be shocked speechless easily; Marui had done so with just one sentence._

_"_ _You rejected him," Jackal had softly breathed out. The Brazilian squeezed his eyes shut then, nodding slowly. "I understand now. You're even better than I had imagined, Niou."_

_"_ _No…any of us would have done the same," Niou had answered. "It was Marui. We were Rikkai. We were a team. Just as we still are now."_

_"_ _Yes," Jackal had agreed. "I hope Bunta remembers that. He has kept it secret too long."_

_"_ _I didn't—I didn't know he kept it a secret until," Niou gestured uncertainly with his hands, "your girlfriend, that meeting. Mm. I always presumed he'd tell you." Softer, Niou had mumbled, "After all. You were the one he kept in contact with all these years. If I had known…"_

_"_ _If you had known you would have tried to convince him to tell us."_

_"_ _Yes," Niou had admitted. "And I am. I did. He nearly took my head off when I confronted him that day. But…he's starting now. After all, he told you."_

_"_ _I suppose he is." Jackal had taken a deep breath. "Thank you, Niou."_

.~.

Niou wakes, unable to recall when he had drifted off into dreamland. The couch is empty and there is nothing but a note under his head to speak of the red head's presence in his apartment the night before.

_Thanks._

_\- Marui_

Niou fingers the note, deep in thought. He glances at the clock, rubs his mussed up hair, and grabs his phone before he could change his mind.

.~.

He rings the doorbell, balancing the tray in his other hand.

Niou hears the shuffling of feet on the other side of the door and steps back. Marui opens the door, his eyes swollen and red, and the astonishment on his face is priceless. "Niou? What are you doing here? Don't you have work?" Marui croaks, his voice hoarse.

Niou raises the tray and says with a shrug, "I brought cookies."

Marui glances blankly down at said cookies, and back up at Niou's face, his expression a mix of emotions. Then, his lips twitch at the ends, curling up into a smile. The happiness and awe on Marui's face is brighter than sunshine and more captivating than the starry night.

It is indescribable.

.~.

"I'll never hate you, or think you disgusting. Never."

Lips part uncertainly. They tremble like leaves clinging onto the edge of their lives on an autumn's day. "…thank you. I—I…thank you."

.~.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"What's there to talk about," Marui says, fingering the hem of his shirt. "You're not dumb, I'm pretty sure you know what it is."

Niou musses up his hair and starts pacing up and down the length of Marui's couch. "You passed out fucking drunk in front of my place without any explanation whatsoever, do you know how _scared_ I was? And then you asked me whether I found you gross, which I absolutely _do not_ —fuck, Marui don't look at me like that, I told you I'll never, I swear, I'll _never_." He stops and kneels in front of his friend. Niou stills Marui's cold and clammy hands and warms them in his grasp. Softer, he begs, "Please believe me."

Marui shakes his head. "I do, I really do. I promise." He squeezes Niou's hands in return and says, "But I was always so _afraid_. I never wanted you to hate me."

"I don't."

"I just had to do it, I loved you so goddamn much. I'm sorry, I had to. I didn't think of how you might have felt, _I didn't care_."

"I know. It's okay. It's okay."

" _Fuck_ , I'm so pathetic, this isn't me. Don't look at me." Marui tries to pull his hands out of Niou's grasp to shield his eyes but Niou holds on tight. "Don't—"

"You can tell me anything, you know that."

There is a pause. "Not my PIN."

It takes a moment for the words to process in Niou's mind and he laughs. "No, except that and your bank account password." His legs are turning numb and Niou shifts. "You trust me, don't you?"

"You know I do."

"No, I do not. I need to hear you say it."

" _Niou—"_

"Marui."

" _Yes_ , I fucking trust you, alright?"

"You said you've seen the discrimination before, but I've never seen you drunk as hell on my doorstep like I did yesterday and fuck, I do not want to witness that ever again. What happened?" Niou asks.

Marui sighs, clearly reluctant but at Niou's urging, he relents and says, "My boss, she found out her driver supported the gay rights movement and fired him on the spot. He _supported_ and was fired because of it." His hands clenches into fists. "I mean, I knew she was—she didn't like homos but he wasn't even a homosexual and she couldn't—I was forced to hear her rants and insults over and over again, I just…I couldn't take it anymore."

"So you drank."

Marui nods, ashamed.

"Your boss is a downright bitch and should be sued her fucking ass off," Niou curses. "Why are you still working for her?"

"I can't just _quit_."

"Why not?"

"My _job_ , Niou!"

"You have enough savings to last an entire year—yes, I do know about it. And you're a graduate with fucking fine credentials. It's not like you can't job hunt while still working in the meantime—no matter how much I want you away from that life-sucking motherfucker this fucking instant." Niou stretches his sore legs and situates himself on the couch beside Marui. "There's always room for you to bunk with me if you wish to save on rent."

Marui quirks the corner of his lips. "No, I do not think that's necessary."

"Honestly though, think about it," Niou says. "This kind of boss isn't good for you—for anyone."

"Okay."

"Wait," Niou suddenly says, "does this mean that kid you care for comes from _her_?"

"Heisuke? Yeah."

"Holy. She better not pass on her fucking discriminative opinions to that kid or I swear to God—" Marui cuts him off by stuffing a half-eaten cookie into his mouth. Niou glares at his unexpected act but softens when Marui pulls him into a tight hug and mutters into his shoulder, "Thank you. Really, thank you so much."

Niou returns the hug with a rib-crushing squeeze as though to ascertain that _yes, Marui is here, he is in my arms._ He has lost sight of who's comforting who, because he has never realised the extent to which he _needs_ Marui and _fuck_ if he loses him forever.

_It's okay. I'm okay. I'm okay._

.~.

"This is weird," Marui says, staring at the coffee table bare of beer cans. "It's the weekend, Niou. Where are your party pants?"

"Most people don't drink on Sunday nights."

"Yeah, but we aren't most people."

Niou looks at Marui out of the corner of his eye and asks, "Do you really think I'm going to offer you drinks anytime soon?"

Marui flinches—barely noticeable—at the tone of Niou's voice. He hugs his legs against his chest and says, "I'm not an alcoholic, you don't have to ban them completely. I get that it wasn't healthy and it was awfully _stupid_ but I can make my own decisions, Niou. You do not control me."

Niou covers his eyes with his hands and throws himself backwards, sliding down the couch into a slump. "Look…I know. Just—can you please just indulge me for a while?"

Marui shifts on the couch and Niou feels his breath on his skin—hot and tingly. It should be uncomfortable but it isn't. Niou grits his teeth at the twisting of his stomach. His hands are peeled away and Niou stares up into determined purple eyes. They are focused as they surveyed Niou and Marui only relaxes when he does, a small curl forming at the corner of the red head's lips. Niou reaches up to flick Marui in the nose and he yelps, springing away from Niou with his arms up in a defensive position. They engage in a staring competition for a bit before laughing like they were back in high school, after creating chaos in the classroom.

"Alright, I'll indulge you," Marui agrees, "since you've been dealing with my shit all this time. But—" He smacks his lips loudly. "—do you happen to have any gum on you? My mouth is feeling rather empty."

Niou feels a strange stirring in his lower abdomen at Marui's words. He wets his dry lips and clears his throat. "You never change the way you don't think of what you say before you speak, do you?"

"What? Do you have gum or not?"

Niou shakes his head. "No, I never have them."

"Geez, you're useless."

"Ugh, we better have drinks in a month's time." Marui groans and flops down onto the couch, resting his legs on Niou's chest. He peeks at Niou warily and says, "That's enough time right?"

Niou takes the opportunity to tickle the bottom of his feet while Marui struggles to escape, hysterically laughing and screaming. "We'll see."

" _We'll see_?" Marui exclaims, his arms a blur at the speed they're flailing in the air. "Stop—fuck, Niou—stop it, oh my god, _stop_ —I have a stich, _my sides!_ And ' _we'll see_ ' on _what?_ Fuck, fuck, Niou!"

"On your behaviour," Niou says, finally releasing his friend from the tickle of hell.

"What the hell am I, a misbehaving student?"

"Puri."

"Christ, I thought you stopped that ages ago."

"Pupina."

" _Niou!"_

.~.

There is a chilli plant sitting in a small pot on Niou's windowsill. A plant. Niou Masaharu has a living, _breathing_ organism in his apartment. Really. Marui inches towards the it and cautiously prods a leaf with his finger. A sudden cough causes him to jump two feet in the air and possibly lose ten years of his life.

"Don't fucking _do that_!" Marui curses, whipping around to rage at his friend. "God!"

"Why are you tip-toeing around a bleeding plant?" Niou asks exasperatedly. "It's not going to eat you, chill."

"Was making sure it's real," Marui says, taking a step back from the window, his hands clasped behind his back. "Not a bomb or zombie-turner."

"Zombie-turner? What the fuck?" Niou scoffs, flicking Marui in the forehead. "You've been watching too many movies."

"Games," Marui corrects, rubbing furiously at the spot.

"Since when did you play games?"

" _Watch_. Not play."

"Why the fuck would anyone do that?"

"Don't mock it till you've tried it," Marui sing-songs, flitting over to the couch, which he flops ungracefully onto. "I'm so bored, entertain me."

"What do you think I am, a clown?" Niou complains, although his tone is fond. He checks the condition of the chilli plant and grabs a spray bottle, watering it. Marui grumbles in the background and Niou says, "Go and watch those games you like so much, why don't you, my apartment isn't your hangout zone."

"They haven't been updated," Marui whines, kicking his legs like a petulant child. "We always hangout at your place, it's a _thing_ now. Get it, a _thing_ , like a rule!"

"I never agreed to this."

"You don't have to," Marui says as a matter of fact.

"I'll hit you."

"Try it," Marui challenges, sticking out his tongue.

At the twinkle in Niou's eyes, Marui yelps and runs around the couch. They both end up at a stalemate on opposite ends of the piece of furniture. Niou fakes left and quickly advances from the right but Marui's quick reflexes saves him from being caught. Their grins are wide and it feels like tennis, where they faced each other on opposite sides of the court, the net the only thing separating them. Hours fly and if they forget to crown the champion, that's okay too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Fun Fact:** I wrote this entire thing because I wanted Niou to bring cookies over to Marui for a "newly moved in" self-introduction. No jokes.
> 
> Also, I have a Tumblr if anyone's interested. Link's on my profile.


End file.
